According to Statista Facebook had 2.89 billion monthly active users as of the second quarter of 2021, Facebook is the biggest social network worldwide.
It’s no wonder that more and more companies are turning to Facebook for their marketing strategy in addition to TV, radio, print advertising, and other Social Media platforms
Let’s explore the 20 things you need to do today for an effective Facebook marketing strategy.
1. Choose a Business Objective
To have an effective Facebook marketing strategy, choose a specific business objective for each campaign you create.
For example: If you’re trying to boost awareness of your business’s opening date, don’t share photos of the Grand Opening Event two months later-share images that will remind visitors about your opening soon.
The same stands for any social media marketing, but it’s especially important on a platform like Facebook.
2. Create Quality Content
Start by posting professional, high-quality images that best represent your business.
Make sure to check in with your sales, customer service, and marketing teams to get permission to share some behind-the-scenes images as well.
Facebook users are smart, so don’t try to get away with a poor-quality photo.
Believe it or not, Facebook users have been known to mark posts as spam if they see any issues with the quality of the content.
2. Use Insights To Track Your Progress
As of July 2021, Facebook Analytics has shut down, but don’t worry.
You still have three in-platform ways to access important data and insights.
For example, Business Suite can provide crucial analytics that you would normally need a third party for such as neural targeting campaigns or ads manager placement optimization.
There is also Creator Studio (which allows video creators to upload content) and Insights which gives detailed statistics about your social media posts!
Plus there’s always Hootsuite Social Analytics for Facebook with its helpful features like engagement monitoring where trends will be easier than ever before.
3. Post Frequently
Posting consistently can increase your Facebook reach by up to 40%.
To keep this number high, don’t forget to post at least once per day on your page and set a reminder for yourself so you don’t miss any postings.
If you want to do better than 40%, try posting two or three times daily! You’ll be surprised how much this can boost user engagement.
The best time of the day to share content is between 12-1 pm and 5-6 pm if you live in the United States.
These are peak times for Facebook users, especially moms who have just returned home from work or school and want to use their computer or phone before dinner.
You also don’t want to post too late into the night, as few people will see your content.
Ultimately, though, the best practice is to find a schedule that works for you in order to have an effective Facebook marketing strategy.
4. Be Careful With Length & Quality Of Videos
Facebook recommends uploading videos under two minutes in length for optimum user engagement.
Videos longer than 10 minutes can be ignored by users who are scrolling through their feeds.
And of course, videos that are grainy and dark will not be as attractive for a Facebook audience.
5. Use Keywords To Create Better Content
Search your keywords on Facebook to see what types of content work in order to inspire you with new ideas.
For example: If I searched “sales” the results featured below this post include content that will help me create a more effective strategy for my social media pages.
You don’t want to be the only one posting-let your followers share the good news, too!
Share company updates like new products, photos from events, or any other information about your business that will connect with your audience.
Remember, though-be careful that you aren’t sharing too much!
You don’t want to overload your audience with irrelevant information, so use your discretion.
7. Use A Picture For Your Profile Image
Try to use a photo that includes the logo or brand name of your business for your profile photo.
The more recognizable the image is, the quicker people will be to read more about your page and click on your content!
8. Use A/B Testing For Posts
Use Facebook’s A/B testing to determine which posts perform better-and then continue creating content like these!
A/B testing is where you create two posts with similar information but slightly different wording, images or scheduling.
Then you’ll share both posts at the same time and compare engagement on each post to determine which performs better.
You’ll then create one of the “winning” posts based on your preferences and continue testing over time to refine your strategy further.
9. Put Effort Into Developing Valuable Content
The quality of the information you share on Facebook is important, so put effort into developing your content!
You can do this by investing a small portion of your marketing budget into developing, editing, and sharing informative blog posts that showcase your expertise.
For example: If you sell jewelry online, try creating an article about “10 Tips for Choosing the Right Jewelry for Your Body Type” or something similar to increase engagement with users.
10. Ask For Likes
Asking for likes is something you want to be careful about; you don’t want to spam your followers with incessant requests, but a request here and there can go a long way!
Facebook says that unique posts will see twice the engagement than posts created without any personalization. And who doesn’t want twice the engagement?
11. Reply To Comments & Direct Messages
When you reply to comments and messages on Facebook, your users will feel more welcome in having two-way communication with you.
This makes them more likely to continue engaging with your content!
When you reply to messages, always send a personal thank-you message and an invitation to connect on your business page.
12. Create Engaging User-Generated Content
User-generated content (UGC) is any content that other users have shared online.
You can use UGC to increase your Facebook engagement by asking fans to post and share their photos, videos, opinions, and insights about your products or services with their friends.
For example: if you’re a clothing company, ask your Facebook fans to post photos of themselves wearing your clothes, or if you sell jewelry online, ask customers to share photos of your products in use.
UGC is an important part of growing engagement on social media pages because users are more likely to engage with and share content that they’ve created.
13. Post Your Facebook Posts To Twitter & Instagram
An important part of connecting with your audience is creating a 360-degree strategy that consists of more than just one social media platform.
Take the time to post your content on every relevant page, and you can also do this for each blog post you publish.
This will increase exposure to your business and increase the likelihood of engagement with your audience.
An example of how to post a Facebook post to Twitter:
Post your Facebook status update in TweetDeck, which is a desktop Twitter client.
Tweetdeck allows you to schedule posts from most major social media sites including Pinterest, Google +, LinkedIn, Instagram, and yes…Facebook too.
In this case, I’m optimizing for engagement on Facebook and Twitter.
I want to reach as many people as possible!
Whether you’re a B2B or B2C business, using Facebook hashtags is an effective strategy to increase your audience size and participation.
Hashtags are used to mark keywords or topics in online discourse.
They help users discover new information and content.
For example: If I was a shoe company, I would post a photo of a new pair of shoes with the hashtag #shoes #fashionbloggers #newarrivals.
This increases my exposure on Twitter and Instagram, where relevant users can easily find me.
15. Convert Your Facebook Fans Into Customers
One of the biggest challenges for businesses as they go digital is generating traffic and finding ways to convert website visitors into customers.
With Facebook advertising, you can create a specific audience based on your ideal customer’s location, gender or interests so that they can see your ad and follow the appropriate link to your website.
To fully leverage Facebook ads, take advantage of retargeting.
This means that when someone visits your site but doesn’t make a purchase.
You can send them an advertisement on social media reminding them about their past engagement with your brand.
For example: If someone visited my jewelry website but didn’t purchase any pieces.
I could run a retargeting campaign to send them an advertisement on Facebook promoting a sale or discount for new customers only.
These increases conversions and returns on investment (ROI).
16. Run A Contest Or Giveaway To Increase Traffic & Engagement
Contests and giveaways are a great way to increase your Facebook engagement.
They’re also a great source of leads, traffic, and sales.
Try hosting a contest on Facebook similar to Pinterest’s famous “Pin It To Win It” campaign.
Ask fans to post photos of themselves wearing or using your product or service.
When they mark their post with the contest hashtag, you’ll receive hundreds of new leads and a significant increase in Facebook engagement.
17. Host An Event To Increase Awareness & Advertising
If your company has the resources, hosting an event can be a great way to reach out to customers and build your brand’s presence on social media.
Events are social media gold because they allow you to create something unique and share content on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram in real-time.
As event attendees are checking in via Facebook, you can use special software to geo-target their location and serve them relevant ads.
For example, A local restaurant can host a dinner party where attendees are encouraged to check-in via Facebook.
In order to receive special discounts or menu items, attendees need to check in.
As they check-in, the restaurant can provide each attendee with a special discount code for a future visit.
Not only is this a way to get people in the door, but it’s also an opportunity to build awareness for upcoming events, specials, or seasonal menus.
18. Create A Page To Increase Your Presence On Facebook
If your business doesn’t have its own page on Facebook, create one right now.
You won’t be able to run ads, optimize your posts or keep track of analytics without a page.
Your business page should be the hub for all of your marketing efforts in terms of social media content and interaction with fans.
It also has to look great because it’s literally THE FACE OF YOUR BRAND on Facebook.
We use Jarvee to easily manage our Facebook page and schedule posts for specific times.
It also makes it easy to share content from other social media sites like Instagram and Pinterest.
19. Create An Event On Facebook To Increase Audience Engagement
Facebook events are a way to create an event and tell your fans when and where you’ll be hosting (or speaking at) a specific event.
You can then invite fans to the event by adding it to your Facebook page and promoting it on Twitter, Instagram and other sites.
For example, I created an event for my blog post series called ” How To Maximize Your Social Media Presence “.
I promoted the event through social media posts with a link to the event page.
I also promoted it on my blog, as well as email marketing campaigns and through my newsletter so that interested parties would know when and where it was being held.
The Facebook event generated a significant amount of traffic (and sales) for my blog post series.
20. Take Advantage Of Facebook Ads Tools To Create Amazing Content
At this point, you know that content marketing is a key component to increasing your Facebook engagement.
But how do you create great content in the first place?
Here are some of my favorite tools for creating stunning visual social media content with almost no effort :
Jarvis: If you don’t have a time machine, Jarvis is the next best thing.
Jarvis a tool that uses artificial intelligence to write unique posts for you.
It works 24/7 and you can use it on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter.
Canva: Canva allows you to create stunning graphics with little or no design experience.
It’s also completely free to use. As a bonus, Canva saves your graphics
Canva (free, easy to use, great for social media graphics)
Macphun Creative Kit: (easy to use, incredible filters & effects)
Planoly: (free, easy to use, great for Instagram planning and scheduling)
PicMonkey: (great for creating collages, infographics, or other graphics with a simple drag-and-drop interface)
Recap
There are many other ways to get an effective Facebook marketing strategy and grow your social media presence on Facebook without spending a dime.
Just remember that you have to focus on creating great content and interactions with your audience because the money won’t come in unless you do.
The biggest challenge for most small businesses isn’t generating likes, but rather converting those likes into leads and sales.
So make sure the bulk of your time and energy is spent creating sharable content that gets people’s attention.
If done correctly, social media can be one of the highest return on investment (ROI) marketing activities out there.
Especially if you take advantage of automation tools like Jarvee to manage and optimize all of your social media profiles.
Best wishes for increasing your Facebook engagement! Please let me know any questions or comments about maximizing your social media presence on Facebook.